Concrete brick press



H. K. FARRIS ET AL CONCRETE BRICK PRESS May 31, 1949.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1946 m: TT

///EME/V KENNETH FARR/J, a, mano- REVS/104W,

K. FARRIS ET AL CONCRETE BRICK PRESS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 8, 19462] W0 Mom HfEMf/V KENNETH REA/$19407,

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K. FARRIS ET AL CONCRETE BRICK PRESS 5 Shee'ts-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 8,1946 JWUMM .FIG. 4.

Patented May 31, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONCRETE BRICK PRESSHermen Kenneth Farris and Ward Renshaw,

Eldorado, Ill.

Application November 8, 1946, Serial N01 708,490

2 Claims. 1

Our invention relates to machine-tools and more particularly to brickpresses.

The object of our invention is to provide a brick press adapted toreceive concrete or the like from a material table, press the receivedmaterial into the desired shape, move the mass a predetermined distanceforward and sever a predetermined length from this mass to form a brick.

Another object of our invention is to provide a press of the typeindicated above being equipped with a horizontally Working plunger and avertically working knife, the plunger and the knife being timed tocooperate, so that the knife is actuated to cut through the concrete orthe like after the plunger has moved the mass forward the predetermineddistance, and that the knife is returned into inoperative position, whenthe plunger starts again its forward movement against the mass ofconcrete delivered from the material table.

Other objects of our invention may appear in the following specificationdescribing our invention with reference to the accompanying drawingsillustrating a preferred embodiment of our invention.

It is however to be understood, that our invention is not to be limitedor restricted to the exact construction and combination of partsdescribed in the specification and shown in the drawings, but that suchchanges and modifications can be made, which fall within the scope ofthe claims appended hereto.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevational side view, partly shown insection, of the brick making machine according to our invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 in Figure 1 andillustrating the actuating mechanism of the dividing knife, and

Figure 4 is an elevational end View of of the brick making machineshowing the driving motor and the mechanism actuating the forwardingplunger.

Referring now in detail to the drawings the brick making machine formingthe subject matter of our invention has a main bottom frame It made fromangle iron and being substantially rectangular. Adjacent the front endsof the longitudinal side members of the main bottom frame two uprights Hare secured to said main bottom frame, and two rear uprights I2 arefastened to and extend upwardly from the rear ends of the longitudinalside members of said bottom frame it]. A top frame i3 is supported onthe top ends of the uprights l I and I2.

On the front cross member of the main bottom frame it the base it of anelectric motor i5 is securely mounted. A V-groove pulley i6 is rigidlymounted on the shaft H of the motor i5.

A gear housing i8 is securely mounted on the front end of the top framei3. A worm I9 is rotatably supported by and extends longitudinally ofsaid housing H3. The shaft of the worm it extends beyond the forwardwall of the gear housing is and a second v-groove pulley 28 is rigidlymounted on the forward end of the worm shaft 2E3, and is arrangeddirectly above the first mentioned V-groove pulley Iii, so that a V-belt22 can be trained over the two pulleys.

Under the worm l9 and meshing therewith a Worm gear 23 is arrangedinside the gear housing It and is rigidly mounted on a transverselyextending shaft 24, Which is rotatably supported by bearings 25 formedin the side walls of the gear housing i8 and in two bearings 26 securedto the top frame IS.

The worm gear shaft 24 extends beyond the outside bearing 26, and oneach end of said worm gear shaft a lever arm 21! is rigidly mounted, tothe free end of which an actuating lever arm 28 is pivotally linked. Thetwo rear ends of the actuating lever arms 28 are connected with eachother by means of a rod 29 extending transversely over the longitudinalside members of the top frame [3.

A table 30 has a material supporting top 3! surrounded by upwardextending walls 32. At a distance below the table top 3! equal to thethickness of the bricks to be formed a bottom 33 is provided and isconnected with the table top. The bottom 33 is resting on and secured tothe top frame it and is firmly connected with the table top (it by meansof smooth longitudinal side walls forming a tunnel with the top andbottom.

A plunger 34 is slidably arranged inside this tunnel and fits snuglytherein. On the front of the plunger it two push bars 35 are formed orfirmly fastened, extend forwardly therefrom and are pivotally connectedwith the transverse rod 29 between the actuating lever arms 28.

Adjacent the rear wall 32 on the table top 3| a rectangular opening 36is provided permitting a mass of material to be dropped from the tabletop 3i onto the bottom 33.

Back of the material table 3!] an upright frame 31' is firmly mounted onthe top frame l3 and on each vertical side frame member a guide 3B isformed or rigidly fastened.

Coaxially with these guides two guide lugs 394 are arranged on the topframe l3 and two support rods 40 are slidably located in said guides 38and guide lugs 39. A knife blade t! extends between and is welded to thetwo support rods, so that its cutting edge faces downwardly and itsforward side abuts the table top 31, the bottom 33 and the side wallsconnecting these two elements, when the knife blade M is located in itslowest position.

A helical spring 32 is attached with its upper end to the top transversemember of the upright frame 31 in the center thereof and with its lowerend to an eye 43 formed in the center of the upper edge of the knifeblade ii.

The two support rods it extend downwardly beyond the guide lugs 36 andare connected with each other on their lower ends by a stiffening rod44.

On the underside of each longitudinal member of the top frame it adownwardly extending triangular bracket i5 is provided and on the lowerend and on the inward side of each bracket 35 the apex portion of a bellcrank lever 36 is pivotally mounted. One leg of each bell crank lever 46extends substantially horizontally and rearwardly and is pivotallyconnected with an upwardly extending short lever ll, which is pivotallymounted on the stiffener rod it.

The bell crank levers (l6 and short levers are arranged in the abovedescribed positions, when the knife blade ll and the support rods it arein their lowest position. On top of the rear end of the rearwardlyextending leg 53 of each bell crank lever it a coil spring id issecurely mounted, and this leg i8 is bent, so that the coil spring M3 islocated directly underneath the corresponding longitudinal member of thetop frame l3.

The other leg 58 extends forwardly and downwardly when the firstmentioned leg at is arranged horizontally, and the two legs 5d areconnected with each other by a transverse bracket 5| pivotally attachedto each leg 5% by a bolt 52 or the like selectively engaging one of aplurality of holes 53 arranged in the second legs 50.

Centrally of the bracket 5i a lug 5d having a hole therein is provided,and a pull rod 55 extends slidably through said hole and has on itsouter end a thread be engaged by a nut er securing the rod 55 againstforward movement, when arranged in adjusted position.

On the forward end of the pull rod 55 an elongated flattened bar element58 is formed, which is provided in its under edge at a distance from itsforward. end with a notch 59.

On the rod 29, connecting the two actuating lever arms 28, a downwardlyextending short lever 60 is mounted adjacent the longitudinal verticalcenter plane of the frame work of the brick press,

' and a pin 6! or the like is inserted in this lever 60, extendslaterally therefrom and is adapted to engage the notch 59 in theflattened bar member 58.

A lift rod 62 is fastened to the under sides of the longitudinal sidemembers of the top frame l3 and extends transversely of said frame, sothat the flattened bar member is arranged above said lift rod 62.

A helical spring $3 is secured with one of its ends to the pull rod 55adjacent the lug 54 on the transverse bracket 5!, and with its other endto an anchor rod 64 extending between the rear uprights l2.

Between the longitudinal side members of the top frame It a plurality ofrollers 65 are rotatably arranged, so that a plate 66 can be positionedon said rollers $35 and extend underneath the bottom 33 of the materialtable 38.

When bricks are to be formed the machine is arranged as shown in Figure1, that means the plunger 3 is arranged in partly retracted position, sothat the hole 36 in the table top 34 is uncovered and material can beshoved through said opening onto the bottom 33 and into the tabletunnel.

The pin ti engages the notch 55! in the flattened bar member 53 pullingthe pull rod 55 forwardly, whereby the two bell crank levers 46 areplaced in the position shown in Figure 1, so that the rear legs it ofsaid bell crank levers move the support rods iii and the blade knife iiinto their low position as shown in Figure 1. The knife blade ll closesthe rear outlet of the table tunnel and the material placed in saidtunnel cannot escape rearwardly therefrom.

When the motor i5 is then energized, the plunger plunger arms 35 and thetransverse bar it are moved further forwardly forcing the flattened barmember 53 to slide upwardly on the lift rod e2 until the notch 59 islifted from the pin 6i. The springs 33 and M will then move the supportrods it and the blade knife dl upwardly, so that the material in thetable tunnel can be pushed rearwardly by the reciprocal movement of theplunger 3 5 and from the bottom 33 onto the plate fit, which rollsrearwardly 0n the rollers under the weight of the stone material.Continued movement of the plunger will bring the pin 65 again intoengagement with the notch 59 in the flattened bar member 58, repeatingthe above described downward movement of the knife blade M to sever apredetermined portion of the brack material in the table tunnel readyfor placement of the plate t6.

To prevent crumbling of the material during the movement thereof fromthe table bottom 33 onto the plate 66 the rear edge is beveled toincline downwardly and rearwardly, so that the formed brick material canslide smoothly and evenly from the table bottom onto the plate.

Having described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. In a brick press having motor-driven means, a reciprocable plunger ofsubstantially rectangular cross-section driven thereby, ahorizontallydisposed and substantially rectangular tunnel member inwhich the plunger is adapted to reciprocate, and a supporting frame forthe tunnel member and the motor-driven means, the features including asubstantially fiat table forming the top of the tunnel member having anaperture for dropping material into said tunnel member in advance ofsaid plunger, an upwardlyextending bounding wall upon the table forminga substantially rectangular open box therewith, a horizontally-disposedmovable receiving plate located beneath the bottom portion of the tunnelmember and having a group of supporting rollers arranged in a horizontalseries upon said frame beneath said receiving plate and in the path ofmovement thereof, an upwardly-projecting frame rigidly disposed upon theend of the box remote from the motor-driven means, a pair ofvertically-disposed rods guided upon the upwardly-projecting frame andthe supporting frame for vertical movement, a downwardly-directed knifefixed at the ends thereof upon intermediate portions of theverticallydisposed rods, means normally suspending said rods and saidknife in position to dispose the knife at the delivery end of the tunnelmember to form a stop for a brick being formed by the plunger in saidtunnel member against said knife, and lever means connected to said rodsbeneath said knife and operated by the motordriven means for moving theknife in said upwardly-extending frame to cut off the formed brickextruded from said tunnel member upon said receiving plate by saidplunger.

2. In a brick press having motor-driven means, a reciprocable plunger ofsubstantially rectangular cross-section driven thereby, a horizontallydisposed and substantially rectangular tunnel member in which theplunger is adapted to reciprocate, and a supporting frame for the tunnelmember and the motor-driven means, the fea* tures including asubstantially flat table forming the top of the tunnel member beinghorizontally of greater extent in length and width than the latter andhaving an aperture for dropping material into said tunnel member inadvance of said plunger, an upwardly-extending integral bounding wallupon the table forming a substantially rectangular open box therewith, ahorizontally-disposed movable receiving plate located beneath the bottomportion of the tunnel member and having a group of supporting rollersarranged in a horizontal series upon said frame beneath said receivingplate and in the path of movement thereof, an upwardly-projecting framerigidly disposed upon the end of the box remote from the motor-drivenmeans, a pair of vertically-disposed rods guided upon theupwardlyprojecting frame and the supporting frame for vertical movementand being spaced apart to provide clearance for extrusion of bricks fromthe tunnel member, a downwardly-directed knife fixed at the ends thereofupon intermediate portions of the vertically-disposed rods, a springconnected to the knife and normally suspending it in position to disposesaid knife at the delivery end of the tunnel member to form a stop for abrick being formed by the plunger in said tunnel member against saidknife, a bell crank lever pivoted on the supporting frame below said boxand tunnel member, a link operated by said motor-driven means andconnected to one end of the bell crank lever, a second link connected tothe other end of the latter lever, a cross-bar connected at the endsthereof to the lower ends of the vertically-disposed rods and at anintermediate portion to said second link for moving the knife in saidupwardly-extending frame to cut off the formed brick extruded from saidtunnel member upon said receiving plate by said plunger.

HERMEN KENNETH FARRIS. WARD RENSHAW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 122,214 BeauJ'eu Dec. 26, 1871399,698 Robison Mar. 19, 1889 490,412 Naylor et a1 Jan. 24, 1893 947,456Plopper Jan. 25, 1910 1,531,631 Sutclifie Mar. 31, 1925 1,609,572Pearson Dec. 7, 1926

